The present invention relates to a prefabricated polymer bathroom wall made of PVC or the like and to a method of making a prefabricated wall section which is lightweight with the frame members having pipes and conduits formed as part thereof.
In the past, it has been common to provide wall plumbing in bathrooms in order to install laboratories, showers, tubs, water closets and the like in the bathrooms. This requires predetermined plumbing, including water pipes and sewer pipes interconnected to the exact position for mounting the different plumbing fixtures. Since the plumbing fixtures are commonly mounted in a similar fashion to a wall which requires similar plumbing for a wide variety of buildings, it has been suggested in the past to make wall sections out of prefabricated factory built units which are attached within the bathroom for thereafter hanging the plumbing fixtures and connecting to the plumbing.
Typical prior art patents which show prefabricated bathroom and utility building assemblies can be seen in the Togni U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,454 for a Prefabricated Utility Building Assembly which prefabricates the pipes into a hollow wall section which can be mounted in a bathroom or other utility room. The Sanders et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,653,357 shows a prefabricated plumbing installation having the pipes preinstalled within a wall section for framing including the sewer pipes and water pipes, which wall sections are ready for installation and connection to the building plumbing. Similarly, the Smid, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,574, is for a Prefabricated Plumbing Partition adapted for installation in a wall of a building which has the plumbing assembly encapsulated in a cellular polyurethane block and has the water supply and drain pipes formed within the molded partition and extending therefrom for connection to the building's plumbing and to the plumbing fixtures. The Dykstra U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,036 is a Modular Laboratory Cabinet which has part of the plumbing for a laboratory built into a cabinet for connection to the building's plumbing. The Armstrong U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,451, is a Plumbing Module with predetermined pipe portions formed for attaching in a building wall for connecting plumbing fixtures thereto. This prefabricated molded plumbing module is an integral molded unit adapted to be installed between the studs of the building and has interconnected piping for connection with the waste and drain fittings of a water closet bowl and with the laboratory and bathtub or shower. The Alosi U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,818, is a Prefabricated Bathroom Wall made of poured concrete and having the pipes set within the concrete with extending portions for attaching to the building plumbing and for attaching plumbing fixtures thereto. Inasmuch as this unit is a poured concrete unit, it is more suitable for multistory buildings which frequently require poured concrete or similar type walls and would therefore be unsuitable for many residential buildings because of its weight of the concrete and the problems of attaching it into an existing wood building.
In contrast to these prior art patents, the present invention is directed towards a molded unit which is lightweight and made out of the same types of polymer that plastic hot water and cold water pipes are made of and that sewer lines are frequently made of so that the lines can be incorporated into the framework. Because of the gridwork and open cellular structure, it produces a lightweight but strong wall section which is readily connectable to the building's plumbing and readily attachable to a wall and whose strength is greatly increased by the attaching of wall panels or plywood to either side of the cellular structure to make the structure have the same general strength characteristics as might be obtained in honeycomb panels and the like.